


november 2017

by loonyBibliophile



Series: new traditions (a life for you and me) [3]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Multi, Pre-Relationship, Thanksgiving, including the trashbag of panera bagels that really happened, mentions of pot and champagne, this entire fic is basically all my college thanksgivings tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-27 09:09:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16699597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonyBibliophile/pseuds/loonyBibliophile
Summary: It’s November 2nd, and Betty is sitting at her desk working on a draft of her final paper for her literary analysis class when Jughead walks into her room and flops unceremoniously on her bed.“So. Thanksgiving.” he said in explanation. Betty stopped typing, turning in her computer chair to face him, raising an eyebrow.“Someone’s eager. I pictured you as a Thanksgiving grinch.” she said with a laugh.“Well, as Jake Peralta said, the pilgrims were murderers, but I love food, so.” Jughead shrugged.(the second in a series of sequential, holiday themed, pre-bughead one shots)





	november 2017

It’s November 2nd, and Betty is sitting at her desk working on a draft of her final paper for her literary analysis class when Jughead walks into her room and flops unceremoniously on her bed. 

“So. Thanksgiving.” he said in explanation. Betty stopped typing, turning in her computer chair to face him, raising an eyebrow.

“Someone’s eager. I pictured you as a Thanksgiving grinch.” she said with a laugh. 

“Well, as Jake Peralta said, the pilgrims were murderers, but I love food, so.” Jughead shrugged. 

“True. Okay, so let’s talk about Thanksgiving. Let me just finish up this paragraph really quick.” Betty says, and Jughead nods, so she turns back to her computer and spends a few minutes rearranging sentences in one of her body paragraphs. “Okay,” she says with a sigh, turning back around. 

“Is that your paper for your hybrid lit class?” Jughead asks, momentarily distracted from holiday talk as he stands up to stare over Betty’s shoulder at her paper. She nods. 

“Yeah. Second drafts of our final papers are due next class. Do you want to look it over? I can send you a share link.” she smiles, tilting her head to watch Jughead skim the words on the screen. 

“Yeah, definitely. I don’t know how useful my input will be, I haven’t read a lot of Ondaatje, but it’s always interesting to hear you talk about that class.” Jughead retreated to the bed again, sitting on the edge with his legs crossed. 

“You should borrow the books I’ve been writing about over winter break. Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. I think you’d love them; he has a really interesting way of handling historical fiction.” Betty says as she finishes emailing a copy of the paper to Jughead, and then turns around again. 

“So, Thanksgiving.” he says, smirking. Betty rolls her eyes. 

“So I have been thinking about this a little, and I don’t think it should just be us. I think we should see if Kevin and Ronnie, and maybe Cheryl and Joaquin, want to come have dinner with us.” Betty offered tentatively. She knew Jughead wasn’t big on group gatherings, but it was just their close friends. 

“That sounds okay.” he nods. 

“Okay, good. Also, will you be terribly upset if there’s no turkey? I really don’t want to cook a turkey, it’s more trouble than it’s worth, I was thinking I’d just buy a turkey breast so we could make sandwiches after the fact, but for the actual day maybe bake a ham?” Betty smiled. 

“Yeah. I have no real attachment to what food we serve, just that there’s a lot. And at least one kind of pie.” Jughead laughs. 

“Oh trust me, there will be pie.” Betty adds, giggling. “Probably one pumpkin and one pecan. And I was thinking we could ask V and Kevin to help with food. And you too, obviously. I know you don’t cook a whole lot, but I’m sure you can follow a recipe for mashed potatoes.”

“Under your tutelage, Cooper, truly, anything is possible.” Jughead says serenely, smiling over at her. 

“Great! I’ll message everyone on facebook. Also, when we go shopping, we shouldn’t go the day before, it’s hellish. The food will survive waiting two or three days in the fridge so I don’t have to hip check some old Portland hippie lady for the asparagus at Trader Joe’s.”

“Fair. But Veronica can’t come shopping with us unless she’s helping pay, her standards are too high.” Jughead added. 

“Agreed. Okay, now get out and let me work on my homework.” Betty said with a laugh, playfully miming shooing Jughead out of her room. 

“I’m going, I’m going. See you later, Betts.”

“Later, Juggie.”

Over time, plans are made, as are extensive shopping lists. Betty has a very well organized folder of bookmarks, each a recipe needed for the feast they’ll be preparing. Veronica has elected to bring a dish she’ll prepare at Cheryl’s since, in her words, the kitchen will be a zoo. Kevin decides this is a great plan, and elects to do the same at Joaquin’s. Secretly, Betty is grateful for this. She was not looking forward to four people trying to cook all at once. They had a decent sized kitchen, but still. It was not, by any means, going to be a traditional Thanksgiving. Veronica was bringing tamales, her grandmother’s recipe. Cheryl was bringing a cherry pie, and when Betty had asked where on earth she planned on finding cherries in November, Cheryl had opened her freezer and pulled out three gallon-sized ziplocs full of them. It had been, to say the least, a weird moment. Kevin was bringing chicken pot pie. Joaquin was bringing snacks, because he claimed the last time he tried to cook, he almost blew up a pressure cooker. 

The night before Thanksgiving, Kevin kicks open the apartment door.

“Have I got a surprise for you bitches!” he declared loudly. 

Betty, who was sitting sideways on the couch with her back against the arm of the sofa and her bare toes tucked under Jughead’s thighs. She was typing away on her laptop while Jughead played Wind Waker.

“What have you done now?” Jughead asked dryly, never bothering to look away from the tv screen. Betty looked over, just in time to see Kevin lift up what looked an actual garbage bag full of bagels, and a paper sack seemingly full of bread. Betty raised an eyebrow. 

“So, normally, the managers donate the goods left at closing to a foodbank the next morning,” Kevin explained, carrying the bags towards the kitchen “But, because tomorrow is a holiday, the bank is closed. So the staff get to take the leftovers. In other words,” he paused for dramatic effect “We got Panera bagels for days.”

“Holy fuck.” Jughead mumbled, turning away from his game to stare in awe at the dozens of bagels in a twenty gallon trash bag. 

“Kev, oh my god. That’s _so_ many bagels.” Betty said, laughing. 

“Don’t worry, babe, I got you plenty of cinnamon crunch.” Kevin grinned and winked at Betty, who pretended to swoon. 

“My hero.” she sighed dreamily. 

“Oh, and here.” Kevin added, tossing a third, smaller bag at the couch. Jughead paused his game to sort through it. The bag was full of cookies. 

“Marry me.” Jughead intoned flatly, then shoved an entire cookie in his mouth. Betty snorted. 

“Sorry Jones, I’m spoken for. Speaking of which, I’m going to shower off the mall funk and head to Joaquin’s for the night. See y’all tomorrow.” Kevin wiggled his fingers and vanished into his room. 

“Betts, here.” Jughead said, holding out a paper wrapped cookie to Betty. It was a red velvet crinkle cookie. Her favorite. “It’s the only one in here, you take it.” 

“Oh no, we should at least split it.” Betty said with a frown. 

“Eat the damn cookie, Cooper.” he smirked. 

“Thanks, Juggie.” Betty smiled, her cheeks flushed as she took a bite. 

Unthinkingly, Jughead reached over, brushing powdered sugar from Betty’s lips with his thumb. Betty flushed even deeper, and Jughead’s eyes went wide before he returned to his game. Once he was absorbed again, Betty allowed herself a soft, silly, self indulgent smile before getting back to work. 

The next morning, Betty got up at 6 am. She wanted to get an early start on the day, and she wanted to bribe Jughead into helping by getting him breakfast. She double checked both of her destinations on her phone, wanting to be sure they were both open, and then slipped quietly into the shower. When she was done, she tied her damp hair up in a bun, and then slipped on an old tshirt with worn leggings and one of Jughead’s flannels and then headed for the car. 

She made it back to the apartment a little after 7, with two coffees in the cupholder and take out from their favorite diner in the passenger seat. The coffees were from Stumptown, which was Jughead’s favorite guilty pleasure (“It’s just… it’s _too_ Portland, Betts” he always said), and the food was from The Roxy, a little 24 hour joint downtown that they both loved. She’d gotten Jughead a truly ridiculous quadruple meat omelette with an equally ridiculous name and an extra side of hashbrowns, and she got herself her favorite breakfast sandwich. 

To her surprise, Betty opened the door to Jughead already awake, perched on the breakfast bar and scribbling away in a notebook. He looked up at her as she entered, grinning. 

“I knew you snuck out to get food. Did you tip Dreads extra since he’s working a holiday?” Jughead asked. Dreads was their nickname for one of the waiters who always seemed to be waiting tables when they went to the Roxy, no matter when they went. He was lanky and had grungy blue white-man dreads. 

“I put a twenty in the tip jar at both places.” Betty smiled easily as she set up their food on the coffee table. 

“Betty Cooper, an angel among mere mortals.” he smirked at her. 

“Shut up and eat, Jones.” Betty said, rolling her eyes. But it didn’t stop her face from turning red. 

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Jughead said, offering her a crooked grin before sprawling out on the floor beside the coffee table. 

“It’s nice that it’s just us for a little while,” Betty said quietly, after a few minutes of eating in companionable silence. 

“Yeah?” Jughead asked, turning to face her. 

“Yeah. I love them all, but these are supposed to be our new traditions.” Betty shrugged, smiling shyly. 

“I think it’s nice too.” Jughead said, leaning over to nudge Betty’s shoulder with his. 

After breakfast, they get to work in the kitchen. Betty, true to form, had done some prep work. She’d already made her pies, and they were in the freezer, ready to be baked when the time was right. The ham had sat on the counter overnight, because the center wouldn’t be as cold that way, and it would cook better. Butter was softened for potatoes. Things with more finicky ingredients, like her grandmother’s pearl onions and French-style cream sauce, she’d pre-portioned the ingredients for the previous day. Jughead was a surprisingly good kitchen companion, making idle conversation as he followed the careful instructions Betty had provided on how to make the perfect mashed potatoes. They were both clean as you go types, a result of Betty’s strict family and Jughead’s tiny trailer kitchen, which Betty appreciated. At one point, he reached over and wiped a smudge of honey off her cheek, and she blushed, forcing Jughead to look away, fighting a smile. 

“Juggie,” she called eventually, as she pulled the baking ham from the oven to give it another basting “Would you take the pies out of the freezer for me?”

“Sure, Betts” he answered back, sliding the foil wrapped pies from the freezer to an empty spot on the breakfast bar. “Want me to take the foil off?”

“No, leave it on for now. I’ll take it off for the last ten minutes or so of baking, so it gets nice and brown, but I don’t want it to singe.” Betty said, sliding the ham back into the oven. 

“Sounds good.” Jughead replied, before returning to his current project of carefully stirring the bubbling saucepan full of onions and cream sauce. 

“The ham should be done in another hour, and by then the guys will be showing up, and I can pop the pies in while we’re eating.” There was sweat beading on Betty’s forehead as she frowned, looking around the kitchen. She was starting to feel just the slightest bit overwhelmed by all the tasks she’d taken on this morning. Jughead looked over at her, and risked abandoning the onions for a moment to walk over and wrap her in a quick hug. 

“You’re kicking ass today, Betts. We got this.” he said quietly, squeezing her shoulder. She smiled gratefully at him. 

“Thanks, Jug.” 

Kevin and Joaquin arrive at the party first. Neither Betty or Jughead is surprised by this. Cheryl and Veronica are usually fashionably late by themselves, let alone when left to their own devices _together_. Kevin had a casserole dish in one arm and a board game box in the other. Joaquin was carrying a bag of store brand cheese balls and a bottle of butterscotch schnapps. 

“Good morning, party people.” Kevin said jovially, setting the casserole dish on the dining room table. 

“It’s two in the afternoon, Kev.” Betty said with a laugh, looking up from a plate she was arranging cornbread on. 

“Semantics.” Kevin waved a hand, and Joaquin rolled his eyes at his boyfriend as he also laid his spoils on the table. 

“That’s not how you use that word.” Jughead offered. 

“Pedantic!” Kevin replied, clearly delighted. 

“Yeah, okay, I’ll give you that one.” Jughead chuckled, leaving the pot of gravy he was stirring to attend to the bag of cheeseballs. 

“Well aren’t you two just so cute and domestic.” Kevin said smugly, wiggling his eyebrows as he looked around the kitchen. Betty shot him a Look, and Kevin had the sense to look at least slightly ashamed. “I brought Settlers of Catan.” 

“Oh god, why? Last time we played that Veronica and Cheryl almost murdered each other.” Jughead groaned. 

“That’s exactly why I brought it. Besides, they’re just going to go back to Cheryl’s afterwards and have hate sex so like, I’m honestly helping them.” 

“You’re such a meddler, preppy.” Joaquin said, rolling his eyes but smiling affectionately. 

“That’s why I’m so much fun.” Kevin grinned, leaning forward and pecking Joaquin’s cheek before collapsing onto the sofa and turning the television on to scroll through Netflix, looking for background noise. 

“No Queer Eye, Kev, it makes Cheryl too angry.” Betty called from the kitchen “I don’t want to listen to another twenty minute rant about coddled straight men while Veronica rolls her eyes in the background.” 

“Yes, Mama Betty.” he sing-songed “I’ll put on something we’ve all seen before.”

“Put on Parks and Rec.” Jughead shouted through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. 

“Stop eating Jug!” Betty reached over, slapping his hand playfully with her spatula. 

An episode and a half of season three of Parks and Rec later, Cheryl and Veronica, arrived at the apartment. 

“We’re here, bitches.” Cheryl announced, flouncing in behind Veronica. She was wearing red oven mitts and holding a pie tin between her hands. Veronica had a canvas tote in one hand, presumably containing her tamales, and her other hand was in the back pocket of Cheryl’s red leather skirt. 

“And we brought refreshments.” Veronica said with a wicked grin, pulling her hand from Cheryl’s pocket to reveal that the canvas contained not just dinner, but a bottle of champagne and a ziploc bag full of cookies with a big green star on it in sharpie. “The cookies are Toni’s, she sends her love from her grandfather’s.” she winked, and Kevin and Joaquin both cheered. 

“Hell yeah, Topaz specials.” Joaquin threw a fist in the air. 

“No one is getting stoned until I am done putting things in and out of the oven! I absolutely will lose track of time.” Betty said, stern but with a smile. 

“The queen has spoken.” Cheryl said grandly, walking over to lay her picture perfect cherry pie on the food table. 

“I still can’t believe you can bake. That makes no sense to me.” Kevin declared from the couch, picking up his head from Joaquin’s shoulder.

“I’m a woman of many talents.” Cheryl turned to him and grinned. Betty snorted. 

“Hell yes she is.” Veronica smiled, leaning over and kissing her girlfriend’s neck. 

“Ew, PDA.” Kevin stuck his tongue. 

“Kevin, you and Joaquin had sex _in_ Cheryl’s bedroom.” Betty called from the kitchen. 

“Oh, you got Betty involved, you’re all in trouble now.” Jughead jeered from his new perch on the breakfast bar, a bag of cheese puffs sitting on his knees. 

“You, mister, are still eating.” Betty laughed, leaning over his shoulder and snagging a handful of cheese puffs. 

“But I stopped eating the dinner food! I have to warm up my stomach, Betts, it’s like stretching before a marathon.” Jughead pouted. 

“I envy your metabolism, Juggie. I really do.” Betty let out a long overdramatic sigh that even Cheryl would be proud of. 

“I’m truly a medical marvel.” Jughead smirked, leaning back to grin directly at Betty. From her position by the food table, Cheryl rolled her eyes. 

“Talk about PDA. Gross, you two.” Cheryl pulled out a chair and lowered herself into it, already reaching for Betty’s perfectly arranged cheese board. 

“Except for the part where Jughead and I aren’t dating.” Betty said, her voice displaying just the slightest note of sharpness. Veronica gave her a look that screamed ‘we’ll be talking about this later’, and then settled down next to Cheryl. 

“Yes, so we’ve been told.” Veronica offered drily, arching an eyebrow over at Jughead, who simply looked away and continued eating cheese puffs. 

“Okay, time for ham!” Betty said loudly, carrying a huge platter of baked, glazed ham to the table. Jughead groaned loudly and then slid down off the counter. 

“You are an angel among mere mortals, Betts.” Jughead said appreciately, sitting down in the seat next to Betty’s usual spot. Kevin and Joaquin made noises of assent as they made their way over to the table. 

“It’s true. You are all the good parts of your mother’s terrible upbringing.” Cheryl said primly, reaching for the bowl of mashed potatoes. 

“Speaking of which, shall we say grace before we eat?” Betty said wryly, smiling over at her friends as she sat down at the table. She looked winded, and Jughead thought back to the past few hours and tried to remember when the last time she sat down was. He reached over, putting a hand on her shoulder and speaking quietly. 

“You okay? You look tired.” Jughead asked softly, rubbing Betty’s shoulder. She smiled at him, nodding. 

“Yeah, just a little warm. Ovens and all.” she waved a hand, and smiled again. He nodded. “In all seriousness, obviously I don’t want to say grace,” she paused, laughing “And I’m not going to make us all go in a circle and say what we’re thankful for. But I do want to say that I’m super thankful for you guys. As you know, adjusting to life out of my home life has been… difficult, but having a group like this, having friends–” Betty paused, and Cheryl took the moment to interrupt, voice unusually quiet. 

“Family, Betty. We’re you’re family.” Cheryl said, reaching over to squeeze Betty’s hand. Betty’s eyes watered a little and she smiled, nodding her head. 

“You’re right. Having you guys as my family had made it a lot easier. I love you guys.” Betty finished, tipping her water glass towards the table. The others followed suit, smiling. 

“We love you too, Mama Betty.” Kevin said, eyes twinkling. 

“Well, I know you won’t make us say anything, but I know you, Betts, and I know you’d love it if we did, so I’m going to.” Jughead said, smirking over at Betty, who flushed slightly. “I’m thankful for Betty Cooper, for making us all of this fucking food, and for meeting my sorry ass in a dorm room floor meeting and deciding I was worth befriending. And the rest of you guys, I guess.”

“Aw, Juggie.” Betty said softly, nudging his shoulder with hers. “I’m thankful for you too.”

“You two are so disgustingly soft for each other. It terrifies me.” Cheryl offered, spearing a piece of baked asparagus. 

“Hey, I worked for this shit. I have earned being gross about my best friend.” Jughead grinned, putting an arm around Betty and pulling her into him. She giggled, and Jughead hoped his beanie hid the fact that his ears turned red. 

“Okay, okay, can we eat now? I wanna get stoned and watch V and Cher murder each other over Settlers of Catan.” Kevin whined. Betty laughed again, and nodded, and everyone dug into the eclectic spread of food in front of them. 

Dinner took awhile, because even after they promised to settle in and eat, there was still a lot of talking and teasing and laughing and a few attempted food fights. Jughead tried not to spend the entire meal stealing looks at Betty, but he definitely did, glancing over at her from the corner of his eye, giving her a little half smile when she looked back. From the other side of the table, Cheryl and Kevin watched them, trading looks and rolling their eyes. Betty caught them, of course, and knew the two of them and Veronica were going to give her yet another earful about her relationship with Jughead. Eventually, they finished eating and Kevin triumphantly grabbed the bag of pot cookies and held them over his head like a trophy. 

“Let’s go! Time to get fucked up and settle a small island nation!” He raised a fist in the air after taking a cookie and passing the bag to Cheryl. 

“God, you are such a dweeb.” she replied, rolling her eyes “I’m so going to kick your ass. I’m going to kick all your asses. Just like last time.” 

“Watch yourself, Blossom.” Veronica chided, waving a finger at her girlfriend. “I’m not going down easy.”

“Oh, but you never do.” Cheryl purred with a wink. Joaquin snorted, and Kevin gagged playfully. The cookies kept getting passed around the table, until everyone had one, and Betty took the champagne bottle to the kitchen, pouring everyone a glass in Veronica’s set of champagne flutes, which she owned, for some reason. Kevin set up the board, and they all made their way over to the coffee table, piling onto the floor. Betty settled in, crossing her legs and leaning her head on Jughead’s shoulder. 

“Happy thanksgiving, Juggie.” she said softly, glancing up at him while Cheryl rolled a set of dice. 

“Happy thanksgiving, Betts.” he answered with a smile, squeezing her knee before turning to watch the beginnings of the game.

**Author's Note:**

> getting this done RIGHT UNDER THE WIRE


End file.
